Na Píobairí Uilleann welcomes pipers Pamela Schweblin and Brian McNamara onto the Board
Press Release on behalf of Na Píobairí Uilleann
Friday October 29, 2021
Na Píobairí Uilleann is delighted to announce that Argentinian piper Pamela Schweblin and well-known Irish uilleann piper Brian McNamara have joined the Board of the organisation.
Pamela, a music teacher by profession, was born into an artistic family in Buenos Aires in 1983 and developed a keen interest in Irish traditional music and uilleann piping in her teens through the recordings of The Chieftains and Planxty.
Traveling to Ireland for tuition, Pamela took lessons from Cillian Ó Briain and her fellow new Board member Brian McNamara who she cites as one of her biggest musical influences. She has also attended classes in Na Píobairí Uilleann and received further expert tuition from NPU chief executive Gay McKeon.
Overcoming the geographical obstacles, Pamela continued her studies of the instrument at home in Lago Puelo, Patagonia and developed a method of teaching the pipes in a Latin American context at the state arts school in Lago Puelo. The course is supported by NPU which supplies pipes for the students.
Pamela is also a member of Elamti, a non-profit network of Latin-American musicians who work together in order to promote Irish traditional music throughout the continent.
Meanwhile, acclaimed Irish musician Brian McNamara joins Pamela on NPU’s governing body. Born into a musical family in south Leitrim, Brian was influenced as a young player by his father Michael who started him on flute and whistle and later by Cavan piper Peter Maguire who provided Brian with his first set of pipes and lessons on the instrument.
Brian later availed of lessons at the Willie Clancy Summer School provided by NPU instructors during the 1980s. He has travelled and recorded extensively, producing two solo works A Piper’s Dream (2000) and Fort of the Jewels (2004) while he was also part of the celebrated family recording Leitrim’s Hidden Treasure which was released in 1998.
Brian, who pursues a professional career as an educator, lives in Summerhill, County Meath with his wife and two daughters – both of whom are learning to play the uilleann pipes.
The new Board members were elected at the AGM of NPU which took place on August 20th.
For further information contact NPU info@pipers.ie tel: +353-1-8730093
About Na Píobairí Uilleann
Na Píobairí Uilleann (NPU), the Society of Uilleann Pipers was founded in 1968 when there were less than 100 uilleann pipers remaining. Today NPU is a thriving arts organisation dedicated to Sharing the Sound of Ireland through Access, Education, Performance and Preservation.
Since unveiling its restored Georgian premises at 15 Henrietta Street, Dublin, in January 2007, NPU has been busy catering for the expanding demand for regular tuition, as well as releasing a number of significant publications and recordings. With demand for pipes considerably exceeding supply, a dedicated Training Centre – PipeCraft – was established in 2011 to deliver training in the very highly skilled craft of uilleann pipemaking.
NPU is accredited to UNESCO as a competent NGO in the field of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH).
NPU lobbied the Irish Government to ratify the UNESCO Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage which resulted in the inclusion of Uilleann Piping on the UNESCO representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2017.
Na Píobairí Uilleann’s primary funding agencies include the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon and Dublin City Council.
Na Píobairí Uilleann, 15 Henrietta Street, Dublin 1, Ireland
W: www.pipers.ie E:info@pipers.ie P: 00353(0)1 8730093
